


sprout and their joy.

by bhubblemilk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 06:38:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18585814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bhubblemilk/pseuds/bhubblemilk
Summary: Your father wasn’t that good at parenting, neither was changbin, but he seemed to be the only one who cares about you these days. And he does, a little too much.





	sprout and their joy.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is what I have, finally. I would say it gets better later but that is not up for me to decide. I do love these two immensely, though. 
> 
> Warning: mentions of self-harm, some missed mistakes in proofread (which I will be doing again in the near future).

You knew a lot of things.

At least you would like the think you knew a lot of things.

There were things that could potentially help you out in your future, like relations and random information you fished off from the internet during one of your midnight shenanigans; There were also more personal things that happen within the family, like how your mother abandoned you when you were young and that your currently rich aunt never loved her even richer husband.

It was written all in her eyes, you could see it through her facade for some unknown reason. Everyone else seemed to scheme over the way her smile doesn’t reach her ears when she talks to her husband, but perhaps it was because everyone in the family wanted to believe in their perfect marriage to keep the inner relationships at peace and so they let that hope blind their judgment.

But you, you never desired that. You didn’t need it. What goes on in your family was not your problem. It never was and it never will be. Because you were just some kid that your father accidentally had, a mistake if they may, and your family has made it very clear that a bastard child—who got abandoned, they always point out—don’t belong in any family. Not even a horrible one.

And with your lack of desire for a perfect family image, your care to hide the bad things that were happening within the family tree also decreased. Pairing that up with your absolutely amazing observational skills (as you would like to think), you often noticed things that you shouldn’t: contempt, jealousy, hatred, and many more.

The man talking in front of your father had most likely just eaten lunch. You noticed the crumbs on the corner of his lips as he moved his hands animatedly while he chatted with your father and you refuse to believe a businessman like him wouldn’t notice something as trivial as that when he was bound to be looking at his own reflection in the black screen of his phone or his laptop at some point.

You knew who the man was since your father had been talking about him to his underclassman on the phone during dinner. Mr. Seo, some guy who found the high-end cosmetic brand in Korea that kicked into the worldwide market years ago. You weren’t sure why a guy like him was personally meeting up with your father, who owns a rather famous design studio, though. You had always thought they hire people to do that.

But it wasn’t your problem. You were simply here because your dad had penciled in the meeting right after school ended and he wasn’t able to drive you back home just yet.

You stood behind your father, close but also keeping an awkward distance. His figure didn’t completely consume your presence, thus Mr. Seo managed to notice your existence. And being the curious guy he was, he asked.

“Is this your kid?” He gestured towards you.

Your father turned around slightly before he stepped aside to reveal you completely, “Oh yes. This is (Name). Say hello to Mr.Seo, (Name).”

“Hello,” you nonchalantly waved, almost wanting to roll your eyes at the way your father talked to you as if you were a three-year-kid in need of assistance when it came to basic manners and tell him you do, in fact, knew how to and have the decency to greet strangers.

The man nodded delightfully, “How nice. Did they follow you here?”

“Oh yes, they just got off school so I brought them along!” Your father replied, “They will wait until our meeting is over.”

“Right? Well, in that case,” Mr.Seo turned around and placed his hand on Changbin’s shoulder, pushing him forward, “this is my son, Seo Changbin.”

As your father and Changbin briefly greeted each other, you took your time basking in his presence. His jaded expression matching up with his casual branded clothing made him appear obnoxious and stuck up and you scrunched up your nose at the assumption.

“He can show (Name) around and keep them company until we finish,” Mr.Seo suggested, although his tone sounded demanding. “Wouldn’t want a kid to wander around an unfamiliar place now, would we?”

Changbin widened his eyes a little then. He did not waste his precious time in the library to come here and babysit some random man’s child. He wanted in on discussing the business deal.

Glancing down at you, who looked up back at him with an almost judgemental expression, Changbin shuddered slightly before facing his father. He shook his head a little in protest, “Wait, I thought I get to talk about the new designs too!”

“Yes, but I made that decision not knowing little (Name) is going to be here. Now that they are, I would want you to keep an eye out for them instead. Show them around the place. Alright, son?” Mr.Seo patted his shoulder twice, an act that ultimately got Changbin to give in, and you twisted your brain trying to see whether it was because of something traumatic or something encouraging.

A pat and a squeeze on the shoulder could mean different things depending on the amount of strength used.

You didn’t speak as you watched the two adults left the spot, moving into the headquarter building and entering the entrance. Returning your attention back to Changbin, whose shoulders were slumped in disappointment and there was a pout on his face, you let the tension in your body relax.

He didn’t seem like someone threatening at all. His cheeks were chubby and his eyes were round and bright, not warm but friendly enough.

“Has your dad ever hit you?” You asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Changbin looked down at you, his brows furrowed now, “What?”

“Has your dad ever hit you?” You repeated again, louder this time.

Changbin let the question process in his head even though he knew he had heard it clearly the first time you asked. He just wasn’t sure why you were asking such a peculiar and alarming question. And his eyes that were just filled with annoyance were quickly replaced with concern as he took the initiative to gently hold your hand and pulled you aside, away from the building.

“No, why? Does your dad hurt you?” his voice was low but firm, exerting security along with the careful grip he has on your hand.

It took you a moment to reply, your eyes wide in surprise at Changbin’s capacity to look after someone who he knew nothing about. It was a small act of kindness and caution, really, but your heart was filled for a moment.

It wasn’t that you had never been cared for before, you care about yourself and you believed that having yourself was truly enough. But there was just something different about receiving patience from others instead of always having to count on yourself that fulfills you in a way that is utterly incomparable.

And sometimes, all people could ask for is a temporary fulfillment, and that would really be enough to make their day.

You shook your head with a shrug, “No he doesn’t. I was just asking because I was curious.”

Changbin’s jaw dropped lightly but he nodded, feeling his heart lighten with the knowledge that he wouldn’t have to confront anyone when his father’s meeting ends. He let go of you then, his hands sliding away from yours and moving up to place themselves on his hips.

A moment of awkward silence fell upon him, only him though since you seemed to be too intrigued in the group of people hanging out on the other side to feel the uncomfortableness that lurked in the air.

Things would have worked out so much better for him if you were around his age, he could have just talked about university or some vague family business that someone his age might know enough to maintain a decent conversation on.

But you weren’t, the gray uniform you were wearing told him that already. So Changbin decided to opt for something more relatable and also within his reach, “Have you decided where to go after you graduate?”

You blinked up at him, “I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying in Korea.”

“No, I mean which university are you going to?” Changbin asked, a breathy laugh sounding from his throat. He wasn’t sure if you were being serious or sarcastic, but he has to hold onto this conversation before he barfs up the tension in his chest.

“Oh,” you said, “I’m going to community college. It’s free the first year and it’s cheaper.”

Changbin raised an eyebrow curiously. He never thought kids with a background like yours would ever worry much about financial problems. If anything, they all seem to have zero concepts of financial stability and no idea how valuable those green stacks of cash really are. He would know, he used to be one of those kids with their nose high up in the air and money shoved into their jeans pocket before they leave home.

Money should be the least of your worry.

“That’s all? If you’re smart enough to get into somewhere good, you should go for it,” Changbin advised, “I mean, I don’t want to make it sound bad but I’m sure your dad is going to pay for your tuition anyway.”

You squinted your eyes and hummed in a low tone to display your disagreement, which simply confused Changbin more. You wanted to laugh at him, at the fact that he would even think your father cared enough to send you to college. The more possible route for your future would be your father kicking you out of the house after you graduate and getting rid of you the way your mother did.

It was a sad thought but it made the most sense to you.

And of course, Changbin would not have known that, and you didn’t plan on telling him either.

Opening your mouth to change the subject, your gaze had briefly brushed past Changbin’s face to look behind his shoulder, where you saw a girl heading over with a look of anticipation on her face. You clamped your mouth shut then, waiting for a few more seconds to make sure your judgment wasn’t incorrect and she was, in fact, heading towards Changbin’s way before you backed up quickly and signaled at Changbin to turn around.

The lady you saw walked up to Changbin and immediately you saw the way he seemed to shrink timidly within her presence. His cheeks put on a rosy dress and his fingers fidgeted with the zipper of his jacket as he spoke. Your eyes narrowed in mild disappointment when you heard that Changbin was stuttering his words out.

Disappointment on your part, perhaps, since you thought a guy as good-looking as him (and as rich as him) wouldn’t have to worry too much about relationship problems. Boys and girls can and will throw themselves at him throughout his life and he would just have to find one along the way.

But of course, people like him have to fall for someone unreachable for them, right? That’s why Changbin’s out here being a blushing, stuttering mess who doesn’t know how to lead a conversation to impress a lady, who you assumed was equally as powerful as he was in terms of both looks and financial stability.

“Oh god, what are you doing? Stop moving around–oh my god, okay,” you grimaced as you watched their conversation. You couldn’t really hear the words Changbin was saying but from the looks of it, he’s not speaking too loudly.

And he was moving too much, his hands reaching up to the back of his neck and to the side of his jaw and the end of his jacket while the lady standing across from him simply stood with poise and gorgeousness.

It was almost painful to watch, and you decided to do something about it.

“Binnie!”

When Changbin turned round to see you, your eyes were bright and your voice exuded cheerfulness that he did not hear from you just a few minutes ago. He tilted his head when he looked at you, eyes confused and shoulders hunched in questions, “Binnie?”

You briefly glanced at the lady who looked at you with a kind smile and curious eyes before returning your eyes back to Changbin, hoping he caught onto the quick avert of your eyes and understood you enough to follow your plan. Your hand reached out to tug at his jacket and pulled on it, “I’m cold.”

Changbin furrowed his eyebrows even more at your sudden complaint that he could do nothing about. Shaking his head slightly, he was about to blurt out a string of incoherently quiet words to you that the lady would definitely not be able to hear when you tugged at his jacket again and glared to the side quickly.

“Do you want my jacket?” He asked finally, seemingly catching on with you. He pulled your hand off the fabric and proceeded to take it off unwillingly before he handed it to you, “Here, don’t get it dirty please, this is really expensive… and affordable but yeah.”

You suppressed an eye-roll as you put the jacket on, your eyes widening in shock at the soft fabric. Alright, you never understood why these branded clothes are so overpriced but you’re feeling it now that you actually got to wear one on your body. Oh my god, it’s soft and warm, and it low-key smells nice that you never want to take it off.

“Um, can we go get ice cream after you finish talking?” You asked then, turning over to wave at the lady, who immediately waved back with a faint smile. “I know this really nice place around the corner, I’m sure you will like it too!”

“Ice cream? I thought you said you’re cold?” Changbin raised an eyebrow, his lips pressed together into a slight frown.

Alright, so he was still a little lost. You grumbled under your breath, repeating your question, “Can we go get ice cream?”

To say Changbin was confused was an understatement. He was beyond bewildered upon your sudden change of tone and actions, even more so when you two have only just met each other, but Changbin couldn’t just pass you off as one of those unpredictably spontaneous kids.

He didn’t feel like that would be the right category for you considering you were far from cheerful, unlike most spontaneous teenagers that he has seen in his lifetime. You lacked the bubbly gleam in your eyes and the hyper loud voice in your words. You simply looked like you knew too much, an old soul trapped in a young body he would say.

“What are you saying? Hold on, I’m so sorry, Minseo, this kid just–” Changbin paused, his frustrated voice coming to a stop and the rolling of his eyes came to a halt immediately.

He had turned around to look back at the neglected party of this conversation that supposedly was between two people, a look of panic shown on his face when he realized he had completely diverted his attention to you and fearing that he had made a bad impression in front of the girl he liked.

But Minseo—thank god you finally got her name, having to refer to her as ‘the lady’ in your head was a pain—was smiling. She has on a humorous, cooing kind of smile as she watched your encounter with Changbin, admiring the caring side that you had forced out of Changbin just a few moments ago.

You watched the light flow into his eyes as he caught onto your plan and you smiled faintly.

You were making him display his gentle side, the caring-older-brother side of him that Minseo apparently found very attractive. How was he just catching onto that?

Changbin breathed out a short laugh, his fingers clutching the hem of his shirt as he kneaded his nail on the fabric. He wasn’t sure why you had decided to do such a thing and the possible results were, as much as he would want to deny, scaring him a little. Was he really that bad at communicating with his crush? How bad was he from a scale of one to ten that a high schooler felt the need to stick in a hand? Or were you just doing it out of curiosity, simply because you felt like helping (in which he felt was totally needed, to be honest)?

“This kid just loves ice cream so much, don’t you?” Changbin forced out the sentence as he pulled a smile onto his face, sharing a smile with Minseo as he reached out to ruffle your hair to make you two’s close relationship more believable. “But, um, can you wait for a little because I really need to talk to Minseo over here?”

“Oh no, it’s fine, I have to head inside anyway,” Minseo blurted quickly, thrusting her hand out to wave dismissively at you before quickly moving it to rest on top of Changbin’s shoulder, making him tense up. You widened your eyes in acknowledgment at the mildly flirtatious action, willing yourself not to show a grin that displayed your enthusiasm regarding your achievement of making Changbin seem less of a complete loser.

“Oh, sure,” Changbin muttered under his breath, once again falling back into his old habit of rubbing the back of his head and smiling at the floor as he spoke in an inaudible voice, “I’ll see you around, Minseo.”

The two exchanged a brief goodbye before she flashed the two of you one last smile and left. Her heels clicked abasing the brick ground, the confident rhythm of her pace and the gorgeous sway of her figure echoing in Changbin mind in an enticing way. You watched her back too, envying the perfect curls of her hair and the healthy glow of her skin.

You looked down at yourself, twirling the ankle of your feet and showing yourself the from and back of your hands. You pouted nonchalantly. Minseo was a perfect desire, and you? Well, you suppose you were the best version of yourself already. And while you were capable of recognizing the desirable traits of others, you make sure you never step down on yourself either.

You looked back up from your hands and tilted your head to the side so you could see Changbin’s face. He had on a lovestruck expression that made you grimace and cringe, hoping that you would not end up being a whipped idiot like him.

And if Changbin was paying enough attention to catch on to your expression, he would have known exactly what you were thinking by your judgemental look and he would have simply laughed.

He was once like you too, a kid who swore they will never waste their time doing impractical things such as falling in love. But here he was.

“Can we go get ice cream? I’m really hungry, I didn’t eat lunch today,” you grumbled, patting his elbow with your sweater paw.

“Yeah, where are you thinking?” Changbin asked as he glanced down at you, his smile tender with his nod.

You knew a lot of things. And while you won’t necessarily admit it, the warmth of his jacket around your body and the way you felt more comfortable looking directly into his eyes was hinting you that this temporary friendship would be quite a memorable one.

* * *

Listening to you munching silently on your ice cream was better than listening to you ramble about a topic that Changbin didn’t want to know—it was what Changbin had been thinking about for the past few minutes as he drove you both to the ice cream shop of your liking, got you some ice cream, and finally drove back to the building where you two were now seated outside on one of the benches, waiting for your fathers’ meeting to end.

Listening to you munching silently on your ice cream was better than listening to you ramble about a topic that Changbin didn’t want to know—Changbin tilted his head to the side with a thoughtful mind as he watched people pass by. Something about that thought was irking him inside, his feelings screamed to him that he was wrong about that statement, that there was something more to it than just being annoyed at your insistent spilling of useless information.

Changbin really could not care less about who won the noble prize of economics or how it was added to the category in 1968. If anything it raised more questions within him regarding your seemingly very boring life that you have enough leisure time to research random things like that.

“I can’t believe you don’t like ice cream,” you said with a mouthful of it, causing Changbin to pull a face at you.

“I don’t, I just didn’t feel like it right now,” Changbin shrugged, snapping out of his own thoughts, “Maybe I’ll have some tonight. I have a whole box of vanilla ice cream in the freezer at home.”

“Do you live alone?” You asked, spooning a pile of melted ice cream onto your plastic spoon and devouring it.

Changbin shook his head with a frown, “No, my mom won’t let me. She still thinks I’m a child, I swear. What about you?”

You paused, turning to look at him with a deadpan expression that Changbin couldn’t tell if it was the cause of the blowing wind or if you were thinking of something unpleasant, with the unpleasant thing being him. You hummed, letting the ice cream melt on your tongue as you contemplate whether you want to leave a sarcastic comment or be real with him and just answer the stupid question.

You went with the fisrt.

“Are you stupid? Where else would I live except for with my dad? I can’t even get a job yet,” your arm dropped to your knees.

Changbin crinkled his nose, only just realizing his mistake, and he scoffed at the way you responded with such straightforwardness and impatience when all he had shown you and your annoying spontaneity—not the cute and adventurers kind but the annoying kind—was tolerance.

“Okay, jeez,” he rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath as he leaned back against the bench, “What about your mom? Shouldn’t she be around?”

“Oh, she is around here, somewhere, right now,” you said slowly, blurting out any words that you found to relate to what you wanted to say but not directly expressing the idea that your mother was indeed around, she just wasn’t around to take care of you… to put it nicely.

Changbin frowned, “You don’t sound so sure.”

“I don’t?” You retorted curtly. Moving your hands, you mixed your ice cream with the spoon, furiously scraping at the end of the ice cream cup, lapping up the melted sweetness and throwing them away in a careless manner.

You did this once in a while, Changbin noticed. Not exactly the act of scraping up ice cream but something that can serve as the evidence that you were irritated on the inside but you weren’t making an attempt to soothe down your anger whatsoever. Not even when Changbin clearly showed that he had opened the gate to his mind and you were free to talk to him about it.

“You don’t, why?”

“So who is the lady you were just talking to?”

“Huh? What are you–I asked you a question–”

“Oh! Wait! Don’t tell me, let me guess!” You perked up, licking your lower lip as you moved to cross your legs.

Changbin breathed out a sigh of annoyance. There you go again. The cycle continues with you quickly changing the subject after he tried to press on about it, and from the experience he gained from the trip of the ice cream shop and back, he never wins this game of tug of war.

He supposed that was what had been irking him. It wasn’t your persistent rambles of the history of a ruined city that nobody cares about anymore but the fact that you avoid talking about yourself. It is a good trait when it comes to talking with conceited, self-centered people. But with people like Changbin, people who notice, this lack of trust was nothing but a plummet in their self-esteem and it raises questions about how tragic had your life really been that you simply refuse to talk about it.

“She is a girl who you like and is obviously out of your league!” You said, pointing at him playfully. When Changbin stared at you with an unamused smile, you shrugged, “What? It’s true. You were stammering so much when you talk to her, that’s not gonna get her to like you. She seems like the type of girl to like confident guys, and you just a while ago? Not one at all.”

Changbin continued to stay silent, the unamused smile on his face ceasing to leave his face as you carried on with your words as a matter of factly, “Don’t look at me like that! I helped you out back there. The lack of confidence can be forgiven within the presence of a younger kid and you did great. You were warm and patient and what kind of girl doesn’t like a guy who’s good with annoying, scumbag teenagers like me?”

Your furious scraping of the bottom of your ice cream cup came back after leaving for a moment. You turned away with a scoff, breathing heavily and willing the wind to take away the inward sadness that you have stored up in your heart and was currently being pushed out through the flares of your nose.

Changbin gently blinked, his smile switching from annoyed to one of fascination, perhaps a little fondness too, “You’re not that bad.”

You groaned, moving your arm to the side with your pinky up as you clutched the spoon, “I know I’m not, I was raising an example.”

Smart-mouthed, a little rude, uniquely spontaneous, and seemingly unbothered by outside opinions but still the hidden insecurities manage to seep out of the venom of your witty tongue as you spoke. A broken child with a mouthful of pretty words, a mind full of sneaky, resourceful ideas and ultimately a heart of gold was who you were.

Changbin couldn’t find any reason for it. He didn’t see himself in you, not necessarily. There was nothing about you that he could resonate with and to be truthful, the fact that you have yet to talk to him in a more polite attitude despite the obvious age gap was pricking his nerves. But the gentleness in his eyes grew the more you spoke and all he could think about was that kids like you will eventually grow up to do something amazing.

“Sprout,” he muttered his breath as he watched you got off the bench and ran over to the nearest trashcan, throwing the empty cup and spoon away, “you’re gonna grow up.”

You paused for a moment as you turned around, rushing back to sit on the bench and preparing more ways you could possibly make fun of Changbin and his pathetic love life. Your shoulders dropped a little at the arrival of your father, walking out of the building with Mr.Seo and indicating the dreadful time of returning home.

Changbin turned around at your sudden staring and he stood up from the bench quickly at the sight of his father. You walked over soon, having already taken off Changbin’s jacket and was secretly shoving it to his side.

“Thanks for the jacket, I didn’t need it but it was warm,” you whispered before quickly heading to stand by your father’s side.

You didn’t speak through the entirety of your father’s farewell with Mr.Seo and Changbin, nor did you pay any attention to what they were saying. You only started moving when your father nudged at your side and told you to get moving. You threw Changbin one more glance, pulling a face at the last second and turning around completely to ignore his response.

You expected him to start complaining about you the second that you were out of earshot despite not wanting to give yourself the benefit of the doubt that you were interesting enough to have someone talk about even after you were gone.

Changbin hummed, folding the jacket on his forearm as he turned to his father, who looked back at him expectantly as if wanting Changbin to say something regarding the little amount of time he spent with you.

“What?”

And he didn’t say anything.

* * *

When Changbin walked out the headquarter with his father to see yours since they still haven’t completely established the design for their brand new product, he could not deny the little puff of disappointment that left his mouth when he saw that your father was standing by the door alone.

But his nonchalance for the lack of your appearance outweighed his disappointment and he was sure a few moments later when he finally got the chance to join in on the meeting his father had promised him the opportunity of joining, he would forget about it.

“(Name) isn’t here today? Did they choose to get home by themselves so they don’t have to wait another half an hour like yesterday?” Mr.Seo laughed, shaking your father’s hand and feeling his grip tightening at the mention. Mr.Seo raised his eyebrows as Changbin did the same when your father let out a panicked groan.

“Oh shit, I forgot about them!” Your father said, reaching into his pocket to fish out his phone to inform you his very delayed arrival.

“You forgot about your kid?” Changbin quickly snorted, his eyes widening in what people would pass off as amusement but really it was the pure shock of how irresponsible your father was. “How does that happen?”

Mr.Seo let out a very loud cough, attempting to cover up Changbin’s rude attitude that your father really wasn’t paying much attention to. Giving his son a small glare to remind him that he needed to be polite at all occasion, Mr.Seo slowly moved back to face his business partner, a small hanging off his lips as he asked, “Can’t they simply head home by themselves?”

“They can, but my parents are over for the month to attend the birthday party for Kim corporation’s chairman. I worked with them for a while before and I think they are inviting almost everyone they know,” your father said, “But as I said, my parents are most likely at my home currently and it will be better if I get to head home with them instead of having them head back alone.”

Changbin furrowed his eyebrows at the ambiguousness of your father’s words. It shouldn’t sound alarming but the way you had continuously dodged the basic family questions he threw at you and the fact that your father literally had just forgotten your existence were raising some serious red lights.

He wanted to ask, the question was itching at his throat and threatening to be blurted out. He expected no valid response, you skills of going around your answers to personal questions have to come from somewhere he supposed, but it could at least slap the idea of disapproval in your father’s way.

But Changbin knew better than to question someone older than him. He just got a warning for it, two or three more times of those would be a three-hour lecture coming his way at the end of the day. So he kept quiet, with half a glare in his eyes and half a frown on his lips just in case a smile needed to be broke out quickly.

“Oh really? That’s too bad, I don’t think I have time to wait longer,” Mr.Seo glanced at his watch with squinted eyes, “Do you mind of Changbin heads over to fetch them off school?”

“Huh? Why me? Can’t they wait at school?” Changbin protested quickly, stepping back with his hand pointed at himself, “I thought I can join in the meeting this time, I have ideas to pitch, dad!”

“I know, and you can always pitch them to me at home. But (Name) shouldn’t be forced to wait at school for half an hour–”

“They can study in the library? They have a phone to play on? Dad, (Name) is a teenager, kids their age always find weird things to do,” Changbin retorted, “They will be just fine staying in school!”

“Seo Changbin.”

The boy snapped his mouth shut, gentle fear and embarrassing defeat flickered across his eyes. That was it. His dad pulled the full name card and it was all over for him. He stared at his father with a pleading gaze, unable to tell whether his presence simply wasn’t wanted because if that was the case, Changbin would very much rather have his father be more honest with him.

A bitter laugh sounded in his mind. Apparently, you weren’t the only one with family issues. His just happened to hide better than yours did.

Changbin breathed in deep, composing himself and gathering his emotions together before he nodded, “Okay. Where is their school?”

Looks like his design wasn’t getting anywhere out of his sketchbook anytime sooner. Nor was forgetting you following through his agenda today.

* * *

Changbin parked his car near the school, coming to find out how frustrated he really was having to drive half an hour to fetch someone he barely knew when he slammed the car door shut and accidentally startling the driver who was parked right next to him. And somehow that simply got him even more riled up than before.

He kept reminding himself that the reason why he was standing in front of a high school gate was, ultimately, your father’s forgetfulness and also because his father decided it was finally time for him to be a designated babysitter starting from yesterday. You came nowhere into the equation and he really should not blame you for something you have no control over.

But still, he grumbled when you walked out of the door, waddling over to him when you finally noticed his figure standing by the gate. The exhaustion was shown in the way you arched your back and dragged your steps as you walked, normally Changbin would feel bad for you, but today was not the day for him to feel empathy.

When you finally got close enough, Changbin’s brows furrowed even more for a whole different reason.

“Jesus, what the hell did you do?” He asked as he pushed himself off the brick wall. He reached out to tug at a piece of your hair that was stickily dyed orange, acknowledging that whatever you got on the ends of your hair and the entirety of your school uniform. “You smell like paint, you look like paint!”

You swatted his hand away in annoyance, “I know, I was there when I look and smell like fresh paint. Can people just shut up about it?”

“Kind of hard to ignore it when the paint is all over your clothes, (Name),” Changbin pointed out, glancing up from you to look at the doors of your school. As a couple of students slowly rolled out of the school to head home, their eyes glanced briefly at you and stayed on you when the saw the tragedy that was your uniform.

Changbin coughed a little, eyeing the students who passed by him and stepping closer to you for whatever was worth. Maybe it could take their eyes off you a little. He pressed his hand to your schoolbag and gently shoved your forward, signaling for you to start walking.

“What happened?” Changbin asked, clamping his mouth shut before he got the chance to tell you to not lie to him about it because it felt like you would.

“My class is decorating the class board today, we are drawing on it with paint and this girl accidentally dropped the paint can on me when she was on the ladder. My head managed to dodge it,” you said, walking alongside him at a slow, sulky pace.

“You kids should really be more careful,” Changbin shook his head in disapproval.

“Why are you telling me this? I was careful, I was drawing inside the lines,” you pressed your finger to your palm for emphasis, “Tell that ill-tempered bitch to be careful.”

“Hey, don’t be rude!” Changbin gasped, looking at you with surprised eyes.

“Rude? She dropped a whole bucket of paint on my head, she is rude.”

“Didn’t she do it accidentally?”

A light bulb went off in your head. Not one that comes with a brilliant idea and eventually fixes everything but one that slaps the lie you’ve been telling right at your face as a reminder that you need to be careful with your words from then on. One wrong word and you’re falling off a slope of all the lies you’ve built up when you talk to Changbin.

And should it be such a bad thing that Changbin ever finds out you’ve been lying about your happy life depends entirely on the amount of crap he gives about you.

You weren’t taking any risks.

“I mean, it’s nothing, I can just wash the paint off,” you said casually, facing forward.

Changbin clicked his tongue. Once again, you answered his question without actually answering it. But what was it to him anyway? He was in the position to ignore the connotations of your decision to lie. He was only here to fetch you back to the company building. It would be another hour of friendly bonding time and when the hour is up, you two would go separate ways and Changbin still wouldn’t have anything to say about you.

But you smelt of paint, the chemically offensive odor radiating off so strong that Changbin had to remind himself not to turn on the fans in the car later. And he felt bad, really bad, even worse with the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because you refused to tell him anything.

“Do you want to get some ice cream?” He asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible for his own sake.

You scoffed, “Sure, so I can scare off everyone inside with my super orange outfit and body odor. That sounds like a good idea. I hope the ice cream tastes like paint too.”

Upon your response, Changbin could only duck his head low with a small curse spilled out of his mouth.

You really could have just said sure and let it go.

* * *

The way Changbin kept glancing at you in the passenger seat told him that he really didn’t trust you eating ice cream when he was driving through a rather bumpy road, which was bullshit since he had let you do it the first time. You didn’t see how it was any different this time.

“I’m not going to drop it, Changbin,” you mumbled, face forward at the road and eyes on the license plate nailed to the back of the car. You already had the code memorized, you had most car’s license plates memorized, but you two have been stuck on this spot for so long you felt like if anyone ever came up to ask you about a memorable license plate number, you would tell them about the one you’re staring at right now.

“You know, you can’t really drop formalities on me, I am older than you,” Changbin said, almost accusingly if you lean in closer to listen. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel as he too, stared ahead at the road, wishing he could see exactly what was happening at the front end of this long line.

“Would you rather have me call you Binnie? Like I did yesterday?” You suggested sarcastically, shoving the vanilla into your mouth and ignoring the way Changbin’s head quickly snapped to your direction, presumably in annoyance but the sweet and gentle taste on your tongue (and your capacity for ignorance and indifference) was bringing you too far away from reality to care about how Changbin felt about the name.

“Anyway, so why are you here to fetch me today?” You asked, changing the subject.

“Because your dad forgot you’re in school? Which is just ridiculous,” Changbin held back a swear, holding his frustration in place as he had been trained to do, “I mean, what kind of father doesn’t remember these things, this is really just… beyond my imagination.”

You chuckled casually. This wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. In a fleeting moment, your gaze darkened in the realization of how uncared for you really were but you bounced back quickly. The choked up feeling of knowing you would always be unwanted by your family was long gone, thrown away in the trash.

If they don’t want you then you won’t want them either. That is the rule you set for yourself.

Surely, it would be tremendously easier if you could take care of your own expenses, which you would definitely be able to in the future. Therefore, as of right now, you were staying in the house for shelter, clothes, and food. After you grew up, you are going to pack your bags and be free of the nasty murmurs of your name around the dinner table.

For now, you laughed, “That’s what being a bastard child is like.”

Changbin was slightly glad that you two were stuck in traffic now that this brand new piece of information was bestowed upon him, an interesting piece of information that he found you trying to cover up as soon as those words left your mouth. He squinted his eyes.

You are smart, but you speak too soon your mind isn’t able to catch up sometimes.

“I heard you, (Name), you can’t lie to me this time,” he said boldly, turning to look out the window, “Mind telling me a little about yourself?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I am attempting to make an actual friend here,” Changbin replied, “I would appreciate it if you can cooperate a little.”

“And why would you want me as a friend?” You asked.

“Why would I not want a new friend?” He retorted.

“Uh, because I wouldn’t?” You shifted in your seat, turning over to see the impatience all over his face and you thought who wouldn’t be annoyed if they got forced to drive all the way down to the other side of the district and get such a wonderful kid like you? You would. You would have shut yourself up a long time ago.

“Okay, I’m the bastard child of the family, I’m sure you know what that means already,” you caved in, “Long story short, dad was cheating with my mom. They had me and mom left. Dad used me to make himself look like the nice person at first, but his perception of time was so bad he didn’t remember to throw me away before I got this old. He told me that himself, can you believe it?”

Changbin’s eyes gradually grew bigger the more you revealed about your childhood. If that could even count as a childhood at all. Alright. he was wrong. Being stuck in traffic was not a good idea, being stuck in traffic with you spilling the truth was an even worse idea because due to the unexpected tragedy, now he cares.

He was waiting for a soft-hearted response like even though your parents bonded through the adultery process but at least they loved each other. Not only did he get none of that, but he also received a new batch of ‘feeling bad for the kid’ cookies.

Why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut?

You stuffed a spoonful of ice cream in your mouth, feeling more animated than ever now that you got the chance to say everything out loud. From the truth of your past to expressing it with your vocal cords instead of the written scripts in your mind. You might as well have forgotten about Changbin’s existence and jump straight into a monologue that would ease you of the world on your shoulders.

“You know, not only am I not a part of the family. I am also dumb as hell so I literally contribute nothing to them,” you said, waving your spoon around, “But do I care? Do I want to contribute in the family? It’s not even mine! I don’t give a shit about anyone in there, I don’t give a shit about anybody! I am a free person!”

You were doing that thing again, the thing where you scrape the bottom of your ice cream passive-aggressively. Except this time instead of violently jabbing your spoon at the cup, you vented in the form of yelling with ice cream in your mouth.

Changbin let you. Listening to you despite knowing that if he lets himself too far in, he would be way too involved in your life to turn around and head on his own away again. And when your voice finally cracked the tiniest bit in the middle of your rant, as you talked about the prestigious and stressful school you didn’t want to attend, Changbin knew it was already too late for him.

You sniffed, stopping in the middle of your giant ramble as you stared ahead. Your brows furrowed, “Where are you going? I know this isn’t the way.”

“How do you know this isn’t the right way?”

“My dad drove me to the building yesterday,” you said, “You were supposed to leave the freeway in the last exit. Go down the road where you find seven eleven, I don’t remember the name of the street, I didn’t look at it. But you were–”

Changbin shrugged, “Yeah okay, but that is the longer route. I am taking a short cut. Anyways, how do you know all that from one ride again?”

“Uh, it’s just directions. You look at it once and you remember it don’t you?” You shrugged.

“For a five-minute ride? Sure. The company building is at least half an hour away from your school, that is a lot of turns and intersections. I’m sorry, I thought you just said you’re dumb as hell–”

“Is that your school bag?”

Changbin would count the times you’ve cut him off in a conversation but he genuinely didn’t believe he would have enough fingers and toes for it. He grumbled out a yes under his breath, stepping on the brake and the car came to a stop. You lurched forward, reaching your hand out on the way to grab the backpack that was stuck underneath the glove compartment, hidden under yours that you had flung down as soon as you got in.

After setting the empty ice cream cup aside, stuffing it in the drink older violently and making Changbin whine in disapproval. You reached into the unzipped bag, shuffling through his binders and notebooks before something caught your eyes.

You grimaced at the chemistry workbook you just pulled out, but you dropped the bag and opened it up to the dog-eared page anyway. Sandwiched inside the opened page were a pencil and a memo of concept ideas that you could hardly understand, but you could tell it was in regards to the unanswered question that Changbin had circled with a red pen.

“Excuse me but what do you think you’re doing?” Changbin asked, sparing you a brief glance when he heard a long chain of scribbling that undoubtedly came from you writing presumably nonsense on his homework.

“I don’t know, just trying to solve the problem. Why is there a big red circle?” You asked, tapping the end of the eraser on the page as you cranked your brain to remember all the weirdly informative articles you’ve searched up when you were studying for chemistry.

“I didn’t understand the question so I marked it. I might just look at the answers later, honestly,” Changbin replied, “But hey, can you not write on my things?”

“I took chemistry last year and honestly? I hate it, it’s boring.” You said, ignoring his protest.

“Do you think I wanted to take it? I only took it because it relates to my dad’s line of work,” he complained, still grumpy about the fact that he got kicked out of the meeting at the last minute, “I’m more of a designing person.”

“Look at you, following your parent’s footsteps. Shouldn’t you be following your own dreams?” You mindlessly accused after finally getting a hang of where your answer was going. The writing was getting more consistent as you went on with the calculation.

“Shouldn’t you have a loving family?”

That was not a good response but somehow he said it anyway, and Changbin knew he would be beating himself up internally whenever it popped up into his mind in the near future. He quickly looked over at you, gulping in preparation for your reaction. But you didn’t show anything on your face, just pure concentration on the paper you were writing on.

“I should, I just don’t have one,” you replied nonchalantly, flipping to the previous pages to find possible references.

“I… um, I didn’t mean that,” Changbin said quietly and you laughed.

“It’s fine. I gave you the opportunity to use that against me as soon as I told you about it,” you said monotonously.

It was plain silence after that. You had long shut the book but you left it on your lap. Glossy eyes faced outside the window as you counted the lamp posts that the car speeded past to keep your mind off your emotions. Occasionally, your mind trails off and you would recognize the steering wheel turning and the turning signal clicking. Reality came rushing back to you at those moments and you peel your eyes away from the lamp post and started to count the moving cars instead.

It was harder and more preoccupying, especially if you force yourself not to blink so your eyes were dry and they start hurting.

Changbin noticed, but he noticed with uncertainty. He could tell you were upset and that you haven’t blinked for the past four minutes. He wasn’t sure why you were doing that and what would you possibly gain from doing that, your eyes closing half way and widening all the way open repeatedly that it was getting horrifying for him to secretly glance.

He wanted to say something but perhaps he had spoken enough to you this day, so Changbin stayed silent all the way until he pulled over to the curb on the street outside the building.

“Thanks for the ride,” you said as you grabbed your backpack and threw one strap of it over your shoulder. Your voice was cheerful again as if the silence that had just ensued didn’t happen.

Changbin didn’t get to respond as you had already pushed open the door and headed out to find your father, who was waiting by the entrance door. He watched your back, grumbling at the fact that you had forgotten to take out the trash nor did you remember to put away his homework.

“Jesus Christ, this irresponsible brat…” he muttered under his breath, anything along that lines of that without a hint of malice in his voice as he reached out to grab his chemistry workbook and the pencil.

He flipped open the page and groaned in frustration when he realized the blank paper was filled with your messy handwriting. Vague calculations sat on the side of the paper, blocked up together with uneven squares you’ve drawn to keep the numbers away from the words. And Changbin saw that you’ve been folding the corners of the previous pages too.

He eyed your answer, recognizing some concepts and forgetting some that had long faded away. He reached to the back of the workbook, where the answers were, and he flipped it back and forth with check out of the sake of his curiosity. The flipping got more rapid when your steps started to match up with the answer booklet and at the end of the paragraph, the number in your box square was the same as the one printed at the back.

You took the long way to get there and some of your explanations were shaky, but you were correct nonetheless. On a question that Changbin had struggled on for the night, you finished it while maintaining a loose conversation with him.

And you have the audacity to tell him you are dumb as hell.

* * *

Changbin might just start to resent the taste of jasmine tea after this particular afternoon. He really should have stayed at school instead. At least he would be doing something productive instead of having to worry about being scolded for always looking down at his phone and listening in on a conversation he has no interest in.

He tagged along with his father and headed over to your home since your father had invited them over to talk with the rest of the family for the purpose of catching up with each other. It was only today that he found out his father was college friends with yours.

Changbin was already on his fifth cup of jasmine tea when he broke out another awkward laugh for everyone sitting around the couch area. He glanced away then, annoyed and bored, thinking about how he would really much rather be listening to you ramble this time.

At least whatever you say would be more informational than what happened in a certain high school back in the good old days.

“When do the kids get off school? Why aren’t they here yet?”

Changbin turned his head back to look at who he remembered to be your aunt if he wasn’t mistaken. He was still mostly uninterested but the mention of high school had spiked up the level a little bit.

“They got off about half an hour ago, maybe it’s just the traffic.”

Mr.Seo raised his eyebrows as he looked over to the side, at your father, “Oh, you aren’t getting your kid today? They seem to be tagging along with you every day. It’s quite sudden, not being able to see them. And my son seemed to have found something interesting yesterday.”

Changbin pursed his lips together when all the attention was on him. This was painfully embarrassing, not to mention he was not in the mood to talk about anything at all, especially not you since he still hadn’t quite gotten over the fact that he had pressed a pressure point of yours right after you chose to reveal something important about yourself to him.

He’s got to remind himself to never mention anything to his father unless it was asked for next time or else something like this might happen again.

Changbin gave everyone a brief glance and he tried to dismiss the unfamiliar gleam of dryness in their eyes after your name was mentioned and your words floated back to him differently than the way you had told him.

You rambled like you were mad at yourself for being useless. Your family’s gaze told him you were actually mad at them instead. And for that sole reason, Changbin wanted to talk about you in front of everyone. Simply out of spite.

Before he had the chance to open his mouth, the door was opened and a group of rowdy children came strutting into the house, only greeting the adults when they came around the couch area. Changbin looked around your cousins, searching for a familiar face with a particular witty tongue, and he frowned when he saw none.

It was later when you finally came striding into the house with several school bags strapped to your back and your forearm. Your steps were heavy and tired, but you dragged on anyway with a glare that did not diminish even as you stood before everyone. That was until your eyes landed on Changbin’s shocked ones and it was like your knees gave up on you entirely.

You clamped your mouth shut, feeling the heat rush to your neck upon the knowledge that Changbin was looking directly at you with a frown that just gave away his questions, questions you were going to have to dodge later if you ever bump into him. But you were mostly embarrassed about the fact that the only person who ever came close to giving you the slightest care saw you in such a defeated state. A complete loser.

Dropping all the extra schoolbags on the floor, you cleared your throat to say nothing before quickly spinning on your heels and leaving the area despite your cousin’s whiny protests.

Your reactions raised a lot of questions within Changbin and he wasn’t doing that good of a job on hiding it, unlike the rest of your family. And it had urged him to talk to you instead of sitting through whatever bullshit your family has to say for the next half an hour again. He listened, putting the teacup on top of the table and standing up, excusing himself quickly and slipping away to head upstairs when nobody was looking.

He knocked on every door to make sure he wouldn’t have a chance of barging into someone else’s even though he was sure everyone was downstairs at the mini party. And the first response he got when you opened the door fully was to get it slammed at his face before he even had the chance to react.

Changbin grabbed the doorknob and opened the door anyway, walking into your room timidly and glancing around the minimalistic area. A bed, a desk, and a closet. No extra decorations or shelves, all your books were either on your desk or on the floor beside it. Your dad gave you the bare minimum and you didn’t want to ask for more from him.

You were gonna move out and get your own stuff eventually.

“I didn’t let you come in,” you said.

“You didn’t lock the door.”

“That isn’t an invitation to come into my room,” you said, pulling off your white socks and throwing them into your laundry basket.

Changbin didn’t speak for a moment. He watched as you fumbled with nothing on your desk, putting away and putting back things. Blinking slightly, he finally spoke, “You had fun, carrying people’s bags like that.”

“Mmhmm,” you hummed, opening your drawer and pulling out a bar of chocolate.

“Did they make you do it?”

“No,” you tore the plastic open aggressively and took a huge bite.

“Are you lying to me?” Changbin asked, and he asked again when you didn’t speak to him.

You gripped your chocolate bar, feeling the weight crack under the pressure of your fingers. You hated that you can’t execute your lies as well as you used to with Changbin anymore, but it wasn’t like anything between you two changed in any kind of way. He was still some guy who babysat you for half an hour and took you out to ice cream just because you asked for it, just because you wanted it.

No one has ever done that for you before.

You heaved a deep, annoyed sigh when Changbin told you to answer him, his voice one of kindness that you wanted to fling yourself at him for not being ruder towards you. You stomped over to your desk and opened your drawer, pulling out a pack of gummy bears and shoving it to him.

“Eat,” you said, “Eat this.”

“So I can shut up, is that what your plan is?” He asked, catching on all too quickly.

You pursed your lips, a mouthful of melted chocolate as you swallowed down the irritation and started to collect yourself. Sitting down on your bed, you licked your teeth clean before asking, “What’s it to you?”

“Again, I am attempting to make an actual friend here,” Changbin replied, popping a gummy bear into his mouth.

You sighed then, looking away, “No, I’m not lying to you. I lost a stupid game of truth or dare.”

“Oh…” Changbin raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “Well you’re a wuss then. What did they ask you to do?”

You rolled your eyes as you turned to look at him. He had already seated himself on your desk chair, munching away on the pack of gummy bears you handed him. With your normal self back in your hands, you had no problem retorting back, “You’re one to talk. You’re the only wuss here, you can’t even talk to a girl.”

Changbin paused his movements, a small smile soon lit up on his face. It wasn’t an amused one, though. It was more… annoyance but without the actual hateful element in it. A sort of playful malice that friends throw at each other from time to time.

“That was one time, stop teasing me about it or else I’m actually going to walk over and flick your forehead,” he threatened, “My friend’s specialty is exactly that and I’ve learned a few things from him.”

“You’re being overdramatic, I was never teasing you about it,” you said, tilting your head to the side challengingly, “Every time I bring it up, which isn’t a lot, by the way, I’m always giving you constructive criticism like don’t stammer when you talk to girls.”

“What if she likes that? Maybe she thinks shyness is cute,” Changbin said.

“Okay? So?” You pulled a face at him, “That’s irrelevant because you’re not a stammering cute guy, you’re just a stammering guy.”

“Okay, that’s it. You asked for it, Sprout,” he threw the empty bag on your table as he stood up, the rolling chair being kicked back by the force.

“Sprout? I didn’t realize we are on nickname terms,” you said, throwing your pillow at him to stop him from approaching and actually flicking your forehead. “But sure, why not.”

Changbin laughed, throwing the pillow back onto your bed before he returned to the seat. He scooted back to your desk and proceeded to look through your drawer for more snacks, finding out a whole chunk of those hidden in them along with some extra hidden cash you found on the floor and never turned in.

He hummed casually, “So, Sprout, did you say you’re dumb?”

You blinked a few times before you slowly nodded, “Yes.”

“But you’re smart though?”

“You just asked me if I said I’m dumb and I said yes,” you mused, “Maybe you are the dumb one.”

Changbin ignored your comment, pulling out a small bag of biscuit and crossing his legs as he tore it open, “I mean, you study well, right?”

“No I don’t, what makes you think that?” You laughed, pulling at the aluminum wrapper carefully.

“From the answer you put in my chemistry workbook yesterday. You did it right.”

You widened your eyes. You almost forgot about that. A part of you was quite proud you had actually gotten the answer since you put effort in whipping up an answer for that hideous question; The other part of you simply shouted at yourself for leaving evidence of your innate ability to capture texts into your brain and utilize concepts very well in different tasks.

“I copied the answer at the back,” you said.

“But your method is different from the answer key.”

“Then I got lucky,” you said, making it obvious that you were lying at this point and hoping that Changbin would just drop the problem.

“Nobody gets lucky in calculations, if you’re wrong you’re wrong,” he said.

“Apparently I did.” You shrugged brightly, smiling at him.

“You’re lying.”

“You’re noisy.”

“And you’re actually very smart.”

Your shoulder slumped and you stared at him with dull, dead eyes that cursed at him. Standing up, you went over to your schoolbag and pulled out a sheet of paper, shoving it at his face. It was your last test from math class with a big fat ’D’ sitting on top of the paper.

You slammed it on your desk, “Like I said, I got lucky.”

Changbin stared at you for a moment, disbelief written all over his frown as he leaned over to check out your test. His eyes trailed down at the red cross marks, his eyes squinting in suspicion at the number of stupid mistakes you’ve made. The answers were messy but very unlike the way you did it in his workbook. And you were totally the type to go out of your way to mark your own answers wrong if it means no one could break through the secure bubble of your lie.

“Do you want my help?” He slowly asked, unsure of what to say.

“I don’t need your help,” You hummed easily, retrieving your test and shoving it back into your schoolbag despite having to fish it out later to get it signed by your parents.

“Oh right, because this is going to get you into college,” he pointed out, rolling his eyes a little.

You groaned, shoving his shoulder a little so he wasn’t leaning against your schoolbag that had been sitting on your chair for a while already, “Why are you so noisy.”

“Again, I am attempting to make an actual friend here.”

“Again, why? You have your own friends,” you laughed at the unfamiliar idea that was just starting to introduce itself to you through Changbin’s consistent worrying, but you didn’t let yourself get too used to the feeling of it.

“And I am sorry,” Changbin blurted out honestly then, causing your smile to dim and you eyed him with confusion.

Your mind skipped through the conversation quickly before a particular line popped up and you instantly knew what he was talking about. Having told him you were fine about the remark, you were surprised he was still clinging onto it, so you crossed your arms and looked at him silently as permission for him to continue on with his apology.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you yesterday, that was over the line. I don’t want you to think that you opening up yourself to someone means you giving people the opportunity to hurt you. It should be you giving yourself the opportunity to let yourself be dependant on someone you trust,” he said genuinely, looking down at his hands that started to move in weird ways as he spoke as if trying to cope with the corniness of his words.

“Because it’s about you, not other people, okay Sprout?” Changbin looked up, “When you tell people something important about yourself, it’s about you. You should gain something out of it.”

You stood rigidly on the spot, a fleeting moment where touching emotions overwhelmed your senses at his wistful words. Your eyes watered so you casted your eyes down at your feet. A lump of doubt bubbled up at the thought of Changbin being a friend of yours, a good one at that too.

The temporary friendship was blossoming into a permanent one. The unfamiliarity of care and kindness that he has been showing you made you almost uneasy but at the same time, you liked the idea of having someone else support you instead of having to support yourself all the time.

Your throat and your mind had got dry with straightforwardness, leaving no space for the usual twisting and turning in your upcoming answer.

“If you want to be my friend then get me out of this house, you corny bastard,” you said with a timid laugh, unsure if Changbin caught onto your lack of sarcasm.

“Oh god, you’re unbelievable,” he rolled his eyes and stood up, “Well, I tried. I’m gonna head downstairs in case my father started asking about me and my lack of bladder control.”

And he didn’t catch on, as you expected.

* * *

It seemed like you were never in your house during a family meeting or family dinner. Thinking that the short tea chat last week would really be the very last of the boring experience Changbin has to sit through, but he was wrong. His family was invited to dinner and he has to tag along due to his name being dropped in the verbal invitation.

Not to mistaken anything, Changbin was completely fine with having dinner at your house thinking that you might at least be sitting somewhere across him. He thought he was going to have someone familiar to chat with but all that happened to him was getting stuck with a couple more high school kids who didn’t even bother enough to include in whatever conversation.

Not wanting to listen to anything about the good old days but also being way past idiots high school drama, Changbin was out of place as he sat in the middle of the table. He was the only one who wasn’t close with anyone and suddenly he missed your sickeningly sarcastic remarks about everything.

Taking a look around, Changbin slowly munched on his food as voices circled around him. The funny thing he noticed, he had noticed before but it was strong with this one, was that no one talked about the lack of your presence. You never told him about how your family treated you and he took the benefit of the doubt you granted him to believe that they do treat you well, and you just didn’t feel like you deserve a spot was all.

Changbin’s desire for you to have grown up nice and loved was strong that he kept that idea, even when he knew damn well that wasn’t how it went for you.

“Excuse me, can I ask something?” He asked after clearing his throat, unafraid but somehow his chest hammered when everyone paused to listen to him. “Where is, uh, where is (Name)?”

Seconds of silence ticked by as the adults looked around the table to finally notice your lack of presence. Changbin noticed some of them had turned to your cousins, who shrugged in the face of their parents’ light-heatedly accusing glare with a full face of innocence, and his eyes squinted.

Changbin was still a high schooler only several years ago, his friends—and himself included—would be ashamed of him if he couldn’t see through that fake innocent facade every kid pull once in a while to get out of trouble. And it was dumb of your cousins to not have seen that coming.

“What did you kids do?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We didn’t do anything,” one of them spoke up, unflinching with her act held up nice and clean.

“Then why is your face making that face?” He asked again, reaching out to grab his glass of water, “You know what I’m talking about. The confused smile, the wide eyes, raised eyebrows–”

“Changbin, what are you saying?” His mother cut in, leaning to his side with a soft whisper.

“I asked where your cousin is and none of you can answer me?”

“Okay! They’re probably out there doing some random things and hanging out with their friend or whatever!” The girl snapped, annoyed as she crossed her arms defensively, “They don’t put family before anything, they’re so selfish.”

As if on cue, the front door opened just as her voice trailed off. Changbin turned around, as did everyone, to glance at the door where you walked through sulkily, again. You were not wearing your usual school uniform, having changed into your school’s tracksuit instead.

“Oh guess who’s back. And they smell like a dead fish too. Can you get any worse than this, really?”

You puffed out some air of tolerance, reminding yourself to let it go, that you weren’t going to stay in this house—nor this goddamn family—for the rest of your life. Even though you just got food dumped on your head and as your cousin just pointed out, you smelt of dead fish. Even though it was obviously not your fault, you were going to just let it slip past you.

Endure, endure, endure.

You spared your family a short glance, the inward sneer that hung on the corner of your mouth quickly diminished as soon as your eyes met Changbin’s. The unknown feeling came back again. Not quite embarrassment but not exactly disappointment either, it was something that stood in between the two of them.

It was a feeling you get when you have upheld yourself for so long in front of someone just to have coincidence step all over your progress by making them see you at your absolute lowest. Their impression of you shatters completely and all your effort went to waste, it was pathetic.

Ah, that was the word. You felt pathetic.

Clutching the hem of your shirt, you pursed your lips to keep out a sob before quickly turning away, heading upstairs slowly to make it seem like you were fine. But you weren’t fine, as you knew so yourself, and as soon as you closed the door behind your room you would most likely break down and cry.

Changbin’s jaw hung open as a result of the silence that came out of his mouth. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t say anything, he wasn’t sure what to say anyway. He had never encountered problems like these, where he has to pick whether he should run after someone or simply leave them to their own devices and let solitary do its healing job.

It was always the first one with his friends, he just wasn’t sure if you were the second kind.

“I swear, they are a bad influence! A very bad influence!”

Changbin couldn’t begin to care about who was talking. All their voices melted into a puddle of unimportance as he stared ahead of him, his glare hard on the shiny plate of food and he knew it wasn’t a good time to be thinking whether you were going to have dinner at all, or whether you get to eat the same meal as everyone else.

Was there perhaps a cupboard full of instant noodle in the kitchen? Were your drawers of snacks the only thing you eat at night because you didn’t feel like joining in a group that constantly throws insult your way?

How patient do you have to be to take all of this was beyond him, because he certainly didn’t.

And he wasn’t gonna keep his mouth shut anymore.

“I think (Name) is a fucking brilliant kid,” Changbin spoke for the first time, firmly and accusingly. “I don’t know what any of you are talking about, they are absolutely fantastic. They are clever–”

“Clever?”

“Yes, clever. Maybe if you would just pay a little more attention you would realize half of what they say are lies to keep themselves from showing vulnerability in front of people like you,” Changbin accused.

The table went silent for a moment, bewildered at Changbin’s sudden burst of anger for a situation that shouldn’t concern him whatsoever. But even despite being called out for their actions, still there was no hint of guilt on their face, not even a small trace that Changbin was hoping to see.

A frustrated groan left his lips as he scooted back, the leg of the chair scraping hard against the ground and creating a sharp screech. The hands that pushed himself back lightly moved the table due to his aggressiveness and the utensils crashed together as a result.

Mr.Seo furrowed his brows, having had enough of this outburst. He looked up at Changbin, mirroring his son’s glare, “Seo Changbin.”

“No, dad,” he snapped, his voice unusually high from disbelief, “I don’t care if you need to keep a good relationship with your partners or anything like that. We don’t even really need their help,” he gestured toward your father, “Maybe if you can just see what ideas I’ve got for the new products, then you wouldn’t have to go all the way out to find someone else. I could have done it but you don’t care.”

Changbin quieted down then, feeling heart rush up to his cheek but it wasn’t in the way you did a while ago. You were sad, broken. He was angry, more angry than sad that you have been spending your life with people who could not care less about you.

With a light huff, he left the table and headed up to your room, but he stopped mid-way at the pitter patter sound of water hitting the shower floor and the bathroom door that was slightly ajar. He leaned close to the opened door, eyeing the heavy fog that surrounded the room, and he was hesitant when he knocked on the door.

“(Name)?” He called out, hoping his voice didn’t get drown out by the water.

You looked forward, facing the wall on the other side as you soaked in the feeling of burning hot droplets showering down on your head, staining puffs of red heat on your face and causing your uniform to stick closely to your skin.

The water burns, it really burns. It was more preoccupying that way. It gets your mind off everything but the physical pain.

The door slowly creaked open then and Changbin took a tentative step into the steamy bathroom. He looked around the foggy place with a frown, waving his hand in the air to clear out space before him as the opened door drained all the heat out the hallway. When he finally found you sitting in the bathtub with your legs pulled up to your chest, your eyes opened and tired, he softened in more ways than one.

The softness came from sympathy, and sadness, and care. A great big mix of emotions wrapping themselves up together in a blanket and shoving themselves down Changbin’s throat, affection that he shown through his gently grip on your forearm as he pulled up from the bathtub.

Changbin winced at the temperature of the water, cursing under his breath as it dripped down on his skin. He quickly pulled you out, reaching out for the towel that hung behind the door and draping it over your shoulders, pulling the hem to clean your hair and face.

Your skin was red, the remains of the hot water, and for the first time he realized what your intentions were when you do these things to yourself. An alternative to what was normally done to people, he would say, but nonetheless harmful.

As he fixed your hair wordlessly, his eyes darting everywhere from your bare arms to the top of your head to make sure you didn’t do anything else to yourself when he was still down in the dining room accusing the rest of the people, you reminded yourself to breathe.

Changbin wasn’t looking at you nor was he saying anything, but his care towards you was overwhelming. Call it unfamiliarity, a new experience, and you weren’t used to having someone care this much about you beside yourself.

It was overwhelming with his words before, it was overwhelming with his gentle actions now. And even you would seem inferior to what Changbin has to offer.

You reminded yourself to breathe. In, out, in, out.

Breathe in, breath out. Breathe in, tears out.

“Ah, uh oh, okay,” Changbin muttered to himself when he noticed the two trail of tears down your eyes. He reached out with the towel in hand, awkwardly wiping them away as they continue to flow out without a whimper or a sob, just tears.

“Changbin–I want to–” you sniffed in between the words, looking over to the mirror and seeing your bloodshot eyes welcoming your sight. It had been long since the last time you’ve cried and looked into the mirror and let yourself see your own defeated state, so when you saw yourself in the mirror, your first instinct was to cut tears off.

Changbin raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change but he didn’t ask much of it. He tilted his head to the side, “You want to what, Sprout?”

You sniffed again, blinking at yourself in the mirror. You grimaced, reaching out to rub your cheeks roughly before you replied, “I said get me out of this house, you corny bastard.”

His eyes widened a fraction at the familiar demand. It all made much more sense to him now and he would definitely not judge you for wanting to get as far away as possible. Changbin looked down at the ground, blowing bits of nervous air out at the thought of his most likely furious parents and how he would have to walk through the dining room to get out of the house soon.

Well, no going back now, Changbin.

“Okay,” he nodded before gesturing towards your wet uniform, “But are you gonna go out like this.”

“No, I’m going to change,” you brushed past him out the door.

“Fine, but be quick because I just talked back to my dad and I better max out the credit card before he cuts me off,” Changbin followed suit hurriedly, “And also please, if you have a ladder anywhere, let’s go through the window because unlike you, I care about how my family sees me.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at him, a short laugh escaping your lips before you slammed your room door to his face.

Changbin was indeed the only wuss in this relationship. He was also just some guy you met one day, with a non-threatening face and a body full of expensive clothes. Some guy who babysat you for half an hour and he took you out to ice cream just because you asked for it.

And then he became your friend, your only friend. And he had just patiently coaxed the pain out of you and fixed you up quietly when you were feeling defeated. Not at all like the way you expected he would behave towards you.

So despite being a wuss, you appreciate him, a lot more than you let on.

* * *

What Changbin expected to see was students piling out of the gates when school ended. The bell rang for a delightfully long time, it only stopped after the students started rushing out of the school as if being on school ground physically drained them and they needed stamina. And for sure, he saw students, but he also saw an old friend which was what he did not expect at all.

Attempting to hide was no use as Chan had already spotted him from the entrance door of the school. Changbin watched as his friend paused for a moment, leaning forward with squinted eyes to check if he was hallucinating, and the flash of realization that appeared on his smile as he held his arm up for a frantic wave.

“Changbin!”

“Ha, ha, hey Chan,” he greeted, positioning himself better. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since… high school.”

“Oh, I’ve been good. I’ve been hanging around here lately to help my mom out with admin things,” Chan replied, “They have a lot of paperwork, especially now since it’s graduating season. What about you? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, just here to grab a kid and go,” Changbin replied, shifting his weight a little. Seeing Chan’s expectant smile, he cleared his throat a little, “Um, you might know them? (Name)?”

Chan’s eyes brightened at the mention of your name, knowing very well who you were despite never seeing your face. “Oh sure, every staff and teachers know their name,” Chan said, breathing out a laugh as he pointed to the school, “The headmaster used to study in Australia and his friend, who happened to work in a university came by a couple of weeks ago.”

Changbin raised an eyebrow questioningly, urging Chan to continue.

“I am not exactly sure what happened but I think he read some English articles (Name) wrote and I guess the headmaster pulled a few strings here and there–you know, those inner relationship things,” Chan waved his hand dismissively, “The university sent in an email personally saying if they choose to apply as an international transfer student, they would definitely consider it. As long as their grades don’t drop, which I highly doubt will ever happen.”

Coincidence once again enters and comely ruin the walls of lies you’ve built up. A small smile appeared on Changbin’s face, engrossed in curiosity and your achievement in the academic area. Eyeing Chan carefully, he asked, “That is funny. Didn’t they just fail a test?”

“(Name) writes on two tests each time. The teachers had it all deliberately planned out for them, one where they put their actual answer and the other one where they put random answers on. The one recorded in the grade book is the better score, and the one that gets send back is the bad score,” Chan explained in detail, somehow knowing everything already despite being a newcomer, “I heard it was to stop the kids here from hating on them. It takes the heat off them a whole lot if they aren’t… you know, extraordinary.”

Chan had already helped piece the puzzle together. Disregarding the legality of this whole plan to make you appear more untalented than most, Changbin would say go for it, if it was what gives you the most comfort then go for it.

And you told him you were going to community college, how ridiculous.

“Did they say anything about applying for the university?” Changin asked then, anticipation in his eyes.

Chan laughed a little, sadly almost, “I don’t think so. I don’t hear any staff talking about it after the e-mail. It doesn’t look like they have enough resources to head all the way to Australia.”

“Not enough resources? They’re smart enough, why shouldn’t they go?”

“The money, Changbin,” Chan said as a matter of factly, leaning back, “Do you know how much it costs to send a kid overseas? The amount might be nothing to you but some of us don’t have a whole corporation’s worth of money on our backs.”

“So it all leads back to that, huh…” Changbin muttered under his breath, facing the ground with contemplation as if thinking hard enough about this would eventually get him a solution.

Chan eyed his old friend for a moment, unsure of his motives and thoughts. It had been too long since they have hung out with each other, their thoughts were wired differently than they used to years ago and there was a distant feeling that was just there. But it was great seeing that Changbin was doing well, maybe a little troubled but overall well.

“Oh, there they are,” Chan called out gently when he looked behind his shoulder to find you walking down the front stair steps, “I’m gonna get going. See you later, somehow?”

He didn’t give Changbin a chance to reply to him, mostly because he knew the answer would be a polite agreement but at the end of the day, they wouldn’t actually be seeing each other again. Chan was just saving the time, be it just a two-second response.

You waited for a moment and walked up to Changbin, eye curious and lips tugged down into the constant critical expression you have on your face, “Why are you here?”

“Because your dad forgot about you again,” Changbin replied briefly.

You didn’t fight it this time, seeing how that answer would be more valid than whatever made-up junk Changbin could have possibly thrown your way. Besides, you weren’t quite in the mood to argue with anyone, not even Changbin.

Changbin, on the other hand, desperately wanted to speak about the new information he just obtained, but he also wanted you to reveal it to himself first before he jumps into a very meaning and deep conversation about how he felt about your obviously ridiculous choice to not try out for a school after it sent you an e-mail of encouragement.

“So, Changbin, the birthday party is coming up,” you spoke up, breaking his train of thoughts. Looking up at him expectantly, your shoulders dropped when he looked as if he had no clue what you were speaking of. You shook your hand, “The party? The old grandpa’s party that everyone is going to?”

“Oh, that!” Changbin exclaimed, “What about it?”

“Perhaps miss Minseo is going to be there? Perhaps you should fix yourself up a little and stop wearing such baggy clothing,” you pulled at the sleeve of his hoodie, rolling your eyes at him, “Change yourself up a little and get her before an arranged marriage does. I can even help fix up your messy hair a little, like parting it to the side…”

Changbin stumbled back and swatted your hands away with a brief laugh, “I’m not doing that.”

“What, why? She might like you back.”

He sighed a little, crossing his arms loosely in front of his chest, “Well, I thought about it. You’re the one who told me that I shouldn’t follow what everyone else tells me to do and do what I want myself to do.”

You scrunched up your nose in thought, unable to recall the exact moment but there were faded memories of you saying something along the lines of that. Not in the way he said it, of course. It was definitely less inspiration and more intended for mockery, which if you were given a chance to say it again, you would have that element kept in your tone.

“And this isn’t what I want. I don’t want to change myself for anyone,” Changbin concluded.

You hummed in disagreement, brows furrowing slightly as you stopped to look at him, “You’re not changing yourself though. I’m just telling you to style yourself up a little. I didn’t say you have to not be yourself.”

“You’ve always been yourself in front of Minseo and in front of me. You are kind, very caring and very patient. Girls like those, you just have to show that side more. All I’m trying to do is help you improve on how you could present yourself,” You said with a light shrug, “But if you don’t want to do it then sure, I’m not going to shove you into a makeover.”

Changbin took in the subtle yet blatant compliment you just threw his way, appreciating this moment of honesty you have chosen to grant him. He smiled, a breathy laugh escaping his lips as he shoved your head gently, “Thanks, Sprout.”

“You’re welcome,” you grinned, “So? What about the makeover?”

“I would do it, under one condition,” he paused, rethinking his decision carefully before shaking his head to chase away his doubts, “If you apply to the university in Australia, I will let you help me.”

Your face fell quickly. He knew already, you were planning on telling him about the truth some day but guess that was out the window now. Bracing yourself, you whined under your breath, “I can’t. I’m not gonna get in.”

“You don’t know that if you don’t try,” Changbin said.

“Yeah, but I don't–I can’t, I shouldn’t,” you shook your head in denial, “I am not going to go.”

“Why not? You can start a new, meet friends who aren’t going to judge you because of your background or hate you because you’re successful,” Changbin urged, “You can be better.”

“I don’t need to be better,” you argued, “What I am right now is already good enough.”

Changbin sighed. He must be annoying the hell out of you right now but he just couldn’t let go of the fact that you were turning down such a great offer and opportunity. You could be so much more than what you already were and quite frankly, leaving Korea and starting fresh somewhere else could make you happy. You could forget about the past, about your horrible family. And that was what Changbin wanted for you.

He stepped in front of you, blocking your path. And your shoulder slumped as you glared at him irritatedly, “What now?”

“Look, I know you think this version of you is already enough, and I think so too. I absolutely adore you, how you’re so smart at such a young age and how you can keep yourself together. I think you are brilliant, Sprout,” he placed his hand on your shoulders, startling you gently.

“And I think the best version of you belong in a bigger place, somewhere better than here,” he said.

And he was being very truthful, Changbin trusted that you’ve got it in you to head to a greater place, somewhere with people as amazing as you, and he has absolutely no doubt that you would still be able to shine brighter than all the other brilliant stars within the vast universe.

Your eyes watered at his genuine faith for you, something you have spent too long building up for yourself. Your confidence was now backed up by a pair of delightful eyes that stared directly back into yours, showing you no signs of reluctance. And you wanted to laugh and cry, hoping Changbin would continue to believe in your ability and afraid that all of this would vanish somehow.

“If you are worried about money, don’t,” he sucked in a deep breath, “I’ve got it covered.”

Your teary eyes widened, “No. You can’t do that.”

“Uh, yes I can,” he said, “Let’s just say… I have a whole corporation’s worth of money backing me up. The only question is whether you really want to go?”

You pursed your lips, your hands that were once playing with the straps of your schoolbag reached out to him. You hugged Changbin tightly, thankful. He smiled warmly, returning the hug with a few comforting pats on your back.

“You corny bastard,” you muttered out, “Thank you so much.”

All you’ve ever wanted was to get out of the house.

* * *

The waiting process was not as nerve-wracking as you thought it would be and very unlike how the rest of your class went through. You didn’t let yourself anticipate the arrival of the admission decision letter, you forced yourself not to think about it too much and the only time you would be thinking about it would be when you finish off the list of pros of having the university decline your admission.

Changbin wouldn’t have to go out go his way to do whatever he had been doing for you, like staying up clicking away on the school website, constantly checking on your grade despite knowing you were doing way too well for someone who casual studies through exam week, making sure you fill in every form correctly—all the things he shouldn’t have to worry about.

“What?” You asked after picking up your phone. You shifted your weight on the rolling chair, reaching into your snack drawer to pull out a bag of chips to munch on late at night, “If you’re nagging me to check my email, I am doing it right now. You know, I shouldn’t have to check it every day.”

“First of all, yes you do. Second of all, I am asking if you want to stay in a dorm or in a house. My cousin Felix is going to the same school as you and he lives around the area, he is looking for a roommate,” Changbin mumbled, “Don’t worry, kid’s dumb.”

“Huh, I don’t know–“

“Very good-looking though.”

“Tell him I said thank you,” you said, your tone suddenly cheerful. Clicking away on your laptop, you made your way to your almost messy inbox of website subscription and password changes alert and started to scroll down until you saw the particular mail Changbin had urged you to find this afternoon.

He clicked his tongue on the other end of the line, “You are very shallow.”

“Thanks,” you hummed dismissively, “I am gonna pay you back one day, for everything.”

“Sure, not sure how long I’m gonna have to wait but yeah,” he replied light-heartedly, “Maybe you can work for me when you get older and get a degree. What do you think about that, Sprout?”

Your response came a beat later, uncertainty laced in your anxious voice, “Changbin I think they accepted me but I am not sure if this is a spam mail.”

Changbin sniffed a little, “Did you really just ask me if it’s a fake university sending you a fake email?”

“Yes. Is it?” You asked.

“No, Sprout,” his voice came through proudly and you just knew he was smiling, “It means you got in.”

“Oh shit,” you mumbled to yourself, rereading the same line over and over again with a beating heart. “Wait, I’ve got to tell my dad about this. I can’t just up and go without a sound, not that he is going to be worried but I don’t want to be irresponsible.”

“For sure, you do that,” Changbin said, “And Sprout?”

“Yeah?”

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m proud of you.”

You smiled unknowingly, leaning against the back of your chair, “I know.”

Changbin laughed deeply, in disbelief, “How do you know? I never told you that!”

You giggled. You could tell him you saw it through the little things he does, or just determining by the tone of his voice whenever he spoke to you about such a matter. But you could also say you just knew a lot of things.

* * *

 

Changbin took you out for ice cream as a celebration, and after that, most things flashed by within a blink of an eye. Final exams, more ice creams, talks about what you should do and who to find after you arrive in Australia, complimenting Felix’s dashing good looks from the pictures Changbin showed you as he nagged you on what to bring there, graduation, and then even more ice cream.

Changbin was there through it all, as time flew past you both all too quickly. Your excitement on attending a new school in a new place died down immensely the morning of your flight, causing you to keep everything to a minimum, from your voice to the number of times you glance over at Changbin’s face.

You didn’t know you were going to miss him, but it was starting to feel like you will when you two stopped before the departure gate.

Changbin felt his chest heave as he watched people head inside the gate, counting down the seconds before you would be out of his sight completely. He quickly turned back to you and he unconsciously gritted his teeth to keep everything in.

“Come back after you graduate, okay? You still have to pay me back for this,” he jokingly said, causing you to roll your eyes.

“You’re just scared,” you pointed out.

Changbin shrugged, “Yeah, that’s true. Don’t get snatched by some other big company over there that have much more to offer you for your intellect, okay Sprout?”

You laughed, “Okay.”

“Do you have your ticket? And your passport?” He asked after a moment, looking at the tiny bag in your hand. “Do you remember what to do as soon as you get off the plane?”

“Yes. Go through security, grab my luggage, and then find Felix,” you replied for the millionth time. “I got it, Changbin. I am going to be just fine. It’s just a flight, I can’t get lost in an airplane.”

“Okay,” he said, reaching out to fix your sweater for no apparent reason.

And he kept tugging at the collar, just tugging at it. And his hand traveled up to your hair, soothing them out as his eyes started to get hazy from the sight of you. Slowly they reached down to your face where he rubbed his thumb over your chubby cheeks over and over again, finding it hard to just let you go.

Changbin spent too much time with you, caring for you. Sending you away was like throwing his heart away and letting it run wild in some foreign place, leaving his heart within the care of someone else. He was afraid and a little incomplete.

Your lips arched down, seeing that Changbin’s eyes were watery. Should have seen this coming, that Changbin would still get you all emotional at the end of the day. No matter how hard you ignored him during breakfast or during the silent car ride to the airport.

“God, please don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry too,” you said, patting the back of his palms gently.

He tilted his head to the side, his soft eyes trailing your features before pulling you in for a tight hug, “I’m gonna miss you, Sprout. Be careful when you’re over there, okay? And remember to text me when you get there.”

You nodded, breathing heavily to suck in the tears that threatened to fall. They were at the waterline of your eyes already and it felt as if a slightly stronger nod would have them flinging right out of your eyes.

Pulling away slowly, you flashed him a reassuring smile before grabbing the handle of your luggage and went to wait at the end of the line. You didn’t dare to look up from the floor until you were at the other side of the gate, knowing very well no matter which direction you look, Changbin wouldn’t be within your sight anymore.

You breathed out a sigh. You really did not see the emotional turmoil coming, it hit you hard but you managed to keep it in. You wouldn’t want to cry like a manic in the airport.

Collecting yourself, you huffed out a long breath of air and hopped a few times. You then grabbed your luggage just as you felt your phone vibrate. You fished it out, pressing on the notification to find several texts from Changbin. You furrowed your brows. Was he going to nag you again?

**Changbin: Remember to text me when you get there!**

**Changbin: You be good now, okay?**

The typing motion disappeared for a moment before a new text appeared, one that made you burst into a short laugh.

**Changbin: I love you.**

But you already knew that, didn’t you?


End file.
